Paraplegic mice are leading to new advances in spinal cord injury research.

STUDY DESIGN

Experimental laboratory investigations with paraplegic mouse models.

OBJECTIVES

To review the most recent advances in the field of spinal cord injury research; immune system response, regeneration, and functional recovery.

SETTINGS

Laval University and Laval University Medical Center, Quebec, Canada.

METHODS

Assessment of regenerative processes and locomotor function recovery induced by a variety of treatments and approaches in wild-type and genetically engineered mice with complete or incomplete lesions of the spinal cord.

RESULTS

Recent studies have reported a number of significant observations providing additional insight into the role and mechanism of regeneration, immune system response, and functional recovery after spinal cord injury (SCI) using incomplete paraplegic mice with Nogo-A, NgR, EphA4, GFAP/vimentime, LIF, or Fas gene knock-out. A novel antibody called CXCL10 was also recently found to increase tissue sparing and angiogenesis after SCI. In an attempt to explore the possibilities of reactivating spared neurons below the injury level, researchers have found that pharmacological activation of specific subtypes of serotonin receptors (eg, 5-HT1A/2A/7) can sustain the production of basic locomotor-like movements in complete paraplegic mice.

CONCLUSION

The growing availability of genetically engineered and mutant mouse strains along with molecular biology tools has led scientists to increasingly use murine models in SCI research. These new tools and models may assist scientists in understanding further the complex pathological consequences of SCI.